Lloyd's FC beats Aon 3-2 to start season

In a basement near Lloyd's, international DJs played whilst a magician worked the crowd, as sax and drum players weaved in an out of champagne fuelled revellers last week.

It wasn't the scene you'd usually associate the with the London Market, but is something we can expect more of as the Lloyd's Football Club has decided to up its game.

Despite having a huge membership, the club has admitted it has not done much in recently years to raise its profile. But now they have decided to turn things around to attract some interest from outside the club.

After a slow start, the night suddenly accelerated when an influx of strapping young men flooded the basement (much to the delight of some of the gorgeous girls crowding round the bar). A coachload of Lloyd's FC players had just arrived, triumphant from their opening match of the season against Aon, having beaten them 3-2. James Lakey, a claims broker who joined Howden Insurance in 2008, was named man of the match.

Lloyd's FC is set to play Oxford University today. Other fixtures for the season also include the Royal Air Force and London Legal League.David Flint, who has been the team's manager for the last ten years, and is currently a partner at insurance recruitment agency TPD Associates having previously worked as an insurance broker spoke to Reactions about the best and worst parts of his

extracurricular activities.

"It's an extremely fun job but it can seem like a thankless task on a rainy Wednesday in March and you have only nine players because no one can get out of work," laughs Flint.

Players are usually recommended to Flint via word of mouth. "Most of the players we have are playing at a semi-professional level," he says. There are about 115 players on the list, which come from all walks of life across all companies associated with the London Market.

However, the club is not exclusively for the industry's elite, young men. There is a "vets" team for over 35s (all over 35 readers - you're now officially past it), and Flint plans on having a women's team playing a match before the year is out.

The club has become somewhat of an institution having run for 62 years, but Flint admits things needed a shake up. By holding more events and raising the club's profile, Flint hopes to raise funds which will go towards the club's expenses which include their international tours. These have previously included destinations such as Singapore and Houston, with Bermuda and New York planned for 2015.

Last year about £12,000 was also given to charity. Previously the club have grown good relationships with the Prince's Trust and Spark, but this year the guests at the club's annual dinner will be able to choose a charity per table to allocate donations too.

"The dinner is our major event, sponsored by Aon. We have about 600 of the great and the good attending," explains Flint. This year the event will be on November 13 and celebrity guests will include football players Dennis Law and Billy Bonds. Ex-referee Howard Webb will be the guest speaker and Brian Conley will be the comedian.

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